Lighter mechanism



-K. BERNHARDT LIGHTER MECHANISM April 12,: 1938.

Filed Oct. 8, 1936 I W I H l II I llll I I I I lNVE TOR A ORNEXS'Patented Apr. 12, I938 LIGHTER MECHANISM Karl Bernhardt, Vienna,Austria, assignor to Louis Vincent Aronson, Newark, N. J.

Application October s, 1936, Serial No. 104,578

In Austria December 7, 1935 9 Claims. (01. 67-71) This invention relatesto lighters such as adaptedfor lighting cigars and cigarettes. Theinvention is particularly adaptable to lighters of the type embodyingpyrophoric sparking 'means in 5 conjunction with a wick.

According to this invention the lighter mechanism may be all containedwithin a compact casing having smooth exterior surfaces and oi a I sizeand shape for convenient carrying. Furthermore, the casing is providedwith a unique form of closure means operatively associated with thelighter mechanism, whereby upon operation of the latter, a suitablesnufier may be removed from the wick and at the same time a pair ofclosure 0 members are opened in such manner as to leave space for, thesnufier member to protrude and exposing the wick for convenient access.Also the closure members when opened upon operation of the lighter, areso arranged as to tempo-' rarily provide wind guards for the flame atthe wick and for the shower or sparks directed from the sparking meanson to the wick. The closure members when in normal closed position,further serve to supplement the action of the wick snul: er in confiningthe ignitabie vapors, thereby preventing excess evaporation of fuel fromthe wick and insuring an ignitable' vapor mixture in the vicinity of thewick when exposed to the shower of sparksfrom the sparking means.

Various further objects, features and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from r L Fig. 3 shows the cigarette lighter in the samesectional view as Fig. 2 but in its open condition;

Fig; 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line Moi. Fig. 1;

, Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on the line i0 55 of Fig. 1, inenlarged scale; and 1 Fig. 6 illustrates a side view of the" cigarettelighter in its open condition.

The pressure lever I or the like which actua'tes the friction wheel andin the known manner opi5- erates under the action of a spring 2, isprovided with two toothed extensions -3 andv 4 (Figs. 1, and 5) Thetoothed member 3 meshes with the friction wheel driver 5, which istoothed on a part' of its peripheryjand in the known manner wheel Ihaving its bearing upon the axle '6 in such manner that it is capable ofbeingturned. The second toothed member i meshes with the teeth of a discii capable of being turned upon its bearing axle 6 and operating thesnufier cap 0 l0 which covers the wick 9 when in closed position. Thesnuffer cap I0 is fastened to the free end of a lever having onearm llconnected rigidly with the disc 8 and another arm Ii .ar-

ranged upon the axle 6. The lid of the cigarette lighter is formed bytwo plain leaves l2 which are quite independent of the snufl'er cap 10and lying close toone ahother within the top of the casing' The twoleaves being each nearly half as large as the top 2 of the casing, serveto shut the cigarette lighter quite fully when in the closed position(Fig. v2).

The leaves It are provided with lateral lugs l l pivoted at II to theadjacent walls of the. casing oiathe cigarette lighter. The leaves arekept in the closed position by a spring l5 acting against the'lugs l3. II When the pressure lever i is pressedinward, the friction wheel I isturned by the wheel driver 5 which is turned by the toothed member .3.The second toothed member 4 turns the disc d and thereby the lever armsI I, l I together with the snufler cap Ill. The snuffer cap l0 and laterthe arms II, II of the snufier cap supporting lever are pushed duringthe opening movement against the leaves [2 and swing the same againstthe action oi. the spring l5, like the leaves-oi a" door, into openposition in which the arms of the snuflfer cap lever bear against theleaves 12 (Fig. 6) andkeep them thus in the opening position. As may beperceived from Fig. 3, the leaves I! are lying in their open positionapproximately in the planes of the lateral walls of the casing of thecigarette lighter and are thus acting as wind protection surfaces.

When the pressure lever l is released, the snufier cap I returns toclosed position. The leaves li'are released thereby and also swing backautomatically into closed position. by the action of the spring Ill. Theperformance of the two lid partsyas simple plain leaves enables anessential simplificationof the construction of the. cigarette lighter.The construction also has the advantage that the entire innerarrangement 0! the cigarette lighter may be substantially enclosedengages with the lateral teeth of the friction .5

' open condition.

vthe closure means.

It will be apparent that the closure members when in open position,provide a pair of elongated wind guard elements at either side of theflame at the wick, and also extending along the path of the shower ofsparks from the sparking mechanism, thus insuring effective operation ofthe device even in windy weather. The positions of the wind guardclosure elements as above described, appear to considerably improvethelighting properties of the flame as produced in the device. It willbe further noted that when the closure members are in closed position,the entire mechanism is housed in a compact casing from which dirt iseffectively excluded and at the same time the casing serves to retainany particles of abraded sparking metal or small quantities of fuelagainst coming in contact with the users hands or pocket. Also it willbe noted that the device when closed is wholly free from any exposedirregular protuberances which might catch or tear the users pocket. Thearrangement of the closure members is such that they will open freelywithout any substantial friction and without the application of anyforce to the finger piece appreciably greater than required for theoperation of a lighter not provided with In short, a normally whollyenclosed lighter is provided in a simple, durable and inexpensive formwithout handicapping the operation of the lighter mechanism.

While the invention has'been described in detall with respect to aparticular preferred example, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art after understanding the invention, that various changes andfurther modifications may be made without departing from the spiritandscope of the invention, and it is intended therefore in the appendedclaims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as newand desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A lighter comprising a casing, the upper portion of which isformedwith an elongated cross section. pyrophoric sparking means andwick means within said portion of the casing, snufier means for thewickpivotally mounted adjacent said sparking means and including asnufler cap supporting arm extending lengthwise of said portion, topclosure means comprising a pair of elongated leaves extendinglongitudinally of said portion and each pivoted respectively, on axesextending along the two longer top edges of said casing portion, saidtwo leaves when in closed position acting jointly to close the top ofthe casing, the path of movement of said arm being substantially along aplane including the line of juncture of said leaves when closed, wherebyraising of said arm separates adjacent edges of said leaves and turnsthe same upwardly and outwardly to open position.

2. In a lighter construction, a casing, closure means thereforcomprising a pair of complementary leaves normally positionedside-by-side to form a substantially continuous closure surincluding anelement movable upon operation of the lighter, and into engagement withsaid leaves at said line of juncture whereby the edges of the leaves atsaid line are separated and opened outwardly.

I 2,118,980 by the side walls of the casing even when in the 3. In alighter construction, a casing, closure means therefor comprising a pairof complementary leaves normally positioned side-by-slde to form asubstantially continuous closure surface with a substantially centrallylocated line of juncture, means for pivotally mounting said leavesrespectively along their edges opposite said line, and lighter mechanismwithin said casing including a snuffer cap operating arm movablesubstantially along a plane including said line of juncture uponoperation of the lighter, and into engagement with said leaves at saidline of juncture whereby the edges of the leaves at said line areseparated and opened outwardly.

4. In a lighter construction, a casing, closure means thereforcomprising a pair of complementary leaves normally positionedside-by-side to form asubstantially continuous closure surface with asubstantially centrallylocated line of juncture, means for pivotallymounting said leaves respectively along their edges opposite said line,spring means normally biasing said leaves toward closed position,pyrophoric spark producing mechanism and a wick within the casingbeneath said closure, and means operatively asso- -ciating saidmechanism and leaves 'for separat- I by-side to form a substantiallycontinuous closure surface with a line of juncture extending lengthwiseof the leaves, means for pivotally mounting said leaves respectivelyalong their outer longer edges, a single spring member within saidcasing normally biasing both of said leaves toward closed position, andlighter mechanism within said casing, and means operatively associatingsaid mechanism and leaves for separating the adjacent edges of saidleaves andv opening the same outwardly upon operation of said mechanism.

6. In a lighter construction, a casing, closure means thereforcomprising a pair of elongated complementary leaves normally positionedsideby side to form a substantially continuous closure surface with aline of juncture extending lengthwise of the leaves, means for pivotallymounting said leaves respectively along their outer longer edges,lighter mechanism and a wick at spaced points within said casing beneaththe closure, a snuffer cap operating arm pivoted in the casing adjacentsaid mechanism and normally extending toward said wick along said lineof juncture, said arm adjacent its pivoted end being of a widthsubstantially as great as the spacing of the pivoted axes of saidleaves,where by when the arm is raised in operation said leaves are engagedthereby and separated and thus opened outwardly and retained during useof the lighter with substantially their maximum possible spacingpermitted by the pivotal mountings 7. A lighter comprising a casing, theupper portion of which is formed with an elongated cross section,pyrophoric sparking means and wick means within said portion of thecasing, snuifer means for the wick pivotally mounted adjacent saidsparking means and including a snufler cap supporting arm extendinglengthwise of said portion and mounted at one end for the lighter isoperated said 'snufl'er member is pivotal movement for carrying asnuii'er cap upwardly at its other end, top closure means comprising apair of elongated leaves extending longitudinally of said portion andeach p voted respectively on axes extending along the two long- -er topedges of said casing portion, said two leaves when in closed positionacting jointly to close the'top oi. the casing and adapted for movementto openposition by separation of the adjacent elongated edges of theleaves outwardly and upwardly, permittingv said arm to be raisedtherebetween.

8. In a lighter construction, a casing, closure meansthereior'comprising a pair of flap-like members, a pair of spaced apartpivotal means .for supporting said members respectively where- 25associated with said mechanism, whereby when raised between said,separated' edges of the closure members. g i

9. In a lighter construction, a casing, a closure means thereforcomprising a pair 01' flaplike members, a pair of spaced apart pivotalmeans for supporting said members respectively whereby when the membersare in closed posi tion, the edges thereof opposite from said supportingmeans come together along a line of juncture, and whereby said edgeswhen the 010- I sure -is opened, are separated and swing outwardly,spring means for urging said members toward closed position, pyrophoricspark producing lighter mechanism and a wick within said casing beneathsaid closure means, said mechanism including an element movable uponoperation 'of the lighter and operatively associated with said membersfor opening the same, and spring means for returning said element tonormal position within the casing after operation of the lighter,permitting said closure members to assume their closed positions.

KARL BERNI-IARD'I.

